How to respond to a staffing RFP: bid or no-bid, compliance matrix, pricing and a response outline

To respond to a staffing RFP, decide first whether to bid at all, then build a compliance matrix from every requirement in the solicitation, answer in the buyer's order and format, price to the buyer's scoring formula, attach the insurance, licence and reference evidence it asks for, and submit before the deadline through the stated channel. Public staffing RFPs are usually scored on several criteria, not price alone: in Sedgwick County, Kansas' RFP #26-0020 for temporary medical staffing (issued March 6, 2026, closed April 7, 2026), pricing was 15 of 100 points.

This page is written for the agency as bidder. If you are buying software, see our ATS RFP template; if a private client is choosing suppliers without a formal RFP, see how preferred supplier lists work. The Sedgwick County solicitation is used throughout as a real example; quotes from it are as published, checked in October 2026.

What does a staffing RFP usually contain?

The Sedgwick County RFP's table of contents is typical of public temporary staffing solicitations:

Should you bid? A bid or no-bid checklist

• Minimum qualifications: do you meet every one today, with evidence? Years of experience, licences and insurance cannot be fixed during the response window.
• Service levels: can you really put forward candidates within the stated time (two business days in the Sedgwick example, and surge capacity within 48 hours in its scope appendix) for every position listed?
• Credentialing: who pays for drug screens, background checks, immunization records, TB tests and fit testing, and does the bill rate cover it?
• Insurance: the Sedgwick RFP asked for commercial general liability of $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, employer's liability of $500,000, automobile liability of $500,000, and umbrella and professional liability of $1,000,000 each, with an insurer rated at least A-VIII by A.M. Best and licensed in Kansas. Our staffing agency insurance requirements page explains the coverage types.
• Licensing: does the state require an employment agency or staffing licence for this work? See employment agency licence requirements.
• Payment terms and volume: net 60 with no guaranteed minimum means you fund payroll for two months on work that may never come. Model the cash.
• Competition and relationship: is there an incumbent? Have you worked with this buyer? Does the scope read as if written around another supplier's process?
• Effort: who will write it, and what bid does that time displace?

A no-bid is a legitimate decision. Write down why; the reasons are useful when the next solicitation arrives.

How do you build a compliance matrix?

Go through the whole solicitation, including attachments and the sample contract, and copy every "shall", "must", "required", "provide" and every form into one table. Then assign each row an owner and a place in your response.

COMPLIANCE MATRIX: [Buyer] RFP [number]   Due: [date, time, time zone]
ID  RFP ref        Requirement (buyer's words)                        Type     Response   Owner   Status
1   IV             Submit by email to [address], RFP no. in subject   Must     Cover      [ ]     [ ]
2   VII.B.1        Minimum 2 years' experience in similar services    Pass/fail App. A    [ ]     [ ]
3   V.9            Candidates within 2 business days of request       Must     App. B #9  [ ]     [ ]
4   V.10           No charge if temp terminated in first 3 days       Must     App. B #10 [ ]     [ ]
5   VII.F          Certificate of insurance, county additional insured Must    Tab 9      [ ]     [ ]
6   VII.F          Disclose any deductible or self-insured retention   Must    Tab 9      [ ]     [ ]
7   VIII.3         3 references (not the county), last 3 years        Must     Tab 7      [ ]     [ ]
8   IX             Acknowledge all addenda on response form           Must     Form       [ ]     [ ]
9   Resp. form p.2 Privilege log for confidential information         Optional Form p.2   [ ]     [ ]
...

The example rows paraphrase the Sedgwick County RFP. Keep the requirement column in the buyer's words; paraphrase is where misreadings start.

How should you price a staffing RFP?

Start from what the pricing appendix asks for. Sedgwick's Appendix C asked bidders to list "current fees" for each medical position they could place, so the price is effectively a bill-rate schedule. Build each rate from pay rate, statutory costs, credentialing, insurance, overhead and margin; our guide to calculating staffing markup walks through it. Read the scope for pricing rules too: Sedgwick's said overtime, if it happened, would be 1.5 times the normal hourly rate after 40 hours in a workweek, with no holiday or weekend differentials, and mileage reimbursed at the federal rate.

Then check the scoring formula. Sedgwick's explained cost scoring with an example:

Price points = (Lowest offer ÷ Your offer) × Points available for price

Example (ours, using 15 points): your offer is 10% above the lowest
15 × (1 ÷ 1.10) = 13.6 points, a loss of 1.4 points

In that structure, cutting your rates by 10% gains less than two points, while the screening process section is worth 25. That is a reason to compete on the quality sections rather than to underprice. Note also that the Sedgwick RFP's criteria table gave pricing 15 points while its worked cost example said 10 points were allocated to cost. A discrepancy like that is exactly what the questions period is for.

If the contract runs through a managed service provider or vendor management system, check for fees deducted from your invoices; see VMS fees for staffing agencies and vendor management systems.

What evidence do you need to attach?

• Insurance: a certificate showing the required limits and additional insured wording, plus a written disclosure of any deductible or self-insured retention if the RFP asks for one.
• Licences and registrations: business licence, state registration, any staffing or employment agency licence, and identifiers the response form asks for.
• References: the number, recency and type the RFP specifies (Sedgwick asked for at least three, other than the county, with work in the last three years). Call your references first and tell them to expect a call.
• Process documents: the pre-employment screening process, credential checklist, background check and drug testing policies, and incident escalation. Write these for an evaluator who has never worked with you.
• Disclosures: conflicts of interest, and any exceptions to the terms, stated plainly in the place the RFP asks for them.
• Confidential material: public bodies are usually subject to open records laws. Sedgwick's response form cited the Kansas Open Records Act and asked bidders to list any material they claimed was privileged, with the legal basis, warning that failing to do so waived the claim.

A response outline you can reuse

1. Cover letter (one page): who you are, what you propose, signatory
2. Signed response form, addenda acknowledged, required identifiers
3. Executive summary: the buyer's objectives in their words, how you meet them
4. Firm profile: years in business, locations, principals, public-sector work
5. Minimum qualifications (buyer's Appendix A, in their order)
6. Scope of work responses (Appendix B), each item numbered as in the RFP
7. Recruiting and screening process (Appendix D): sourcing, interview,
   credential verification, background and drug checks, sample checklist
8. Staffing plan and service levels: time to submit, surge plan, backup
   coverage, no-show replacement, escalation contacts
9. Account management and reporting: meeting cadence, hours summaries,
   performance issues handled within the stated time
10. Compliance: licences, EEO policy, privacy and HIPAA training if relevant
11. References
12. Pricing (Appendix C): bill rate by position, overtime, assumptions
13. Insurance certificate and deductible disclosure
14. Exceptions to terms (or "none")
15. Privilege log for confidential material
Appendix: compliance matrix (if allowed)

Questions period, addenda and orals

• Questions: send them in writing to the named contact before the deadline (March 20, 2026 in the Sedgwick example). The RFP said bidders "shall not contact county employees, department heads, using agencies, evaluation committee members or elected officials" and that doing so could disqualify the response.
• Addenda: answers come as written addenda posted on the buyer's procurement site. Check it until the due date and acknowledge each addendum on the response form.
• Orals and meetings: some buyers meet bidders after proposals arrive. Bring the people who will run the account, not only sales, and expect scenario questions: a no-show at 7 a.m., a credential that lapses mid-assignment, a surge request on a Friday.
• After submission: follow the buyer's timeline and protest procedure, and ask the procurement contact whether a debrief is available whether you win or lose.

Common mistakes